My 48g Fowlr Journey. 13 Months On...

[SkiFletch]

Copepods shouldnt bother fish at all. In fact most smaller gobies, wrasses, and pseudochromis will eat them

 

[sparklefuzz]

Well! The copepods have diminished and have been replaced with bits of white coloured 'hairs' which I scrape off daily... not much, just bits. There has been a small amount of brown algae on the back, but we've also found 3 empty cerith shells , so today we bought some new snails... just 5, turbo snails... interesting discovery... seems the 'turbo' snails I received through the mail 3 weeks ago are not actually turbo snails at all... I can't find what they are, the closest I've found was a picture on google, labelled as a 'star astrea' snail. They have pointy bits out of the shell and are quite rounded as opposed to the cone like shell our new turbo snails have got. I'll get a picture shortly, see if anyone can help. We also got a bunch of empty shells for the hermits - way overdue, hopefully now they'll leave the other 3 ceriths alone.

The great news is, our clowns are doing fine and the water stats are great, so today we got a new fish! Meet Freddy, the orange firefish:



He hid at first, closely watched by Jack and Jill, but the past hour he has been exploring and hasn't hidden once. He is ignoring the attentions of the clowns, outswimming them when he needs to, and took food not long ago, so we're looking good!

Here is that snail, we have 4... some have tube worms on their back and all of them are covered in coralline algae:



Ideas?

 

[SkiFletch]

Wierd looking snail. Could be a star astrea which are native to the tidal areas of florida and the gulf of mexico. Tough to say from that pic

 

[rhysiboy]

is that a hydroid of some sot i can see extending? i have them in my tank and have wondered why they are considerd un reef safe

 

[sparklefuzz]

Wierd looking snail. Could be a star astrea which are native to the tidal areas of florida and the gulf of mexico. Tough to say from that pic

I think it must be, I'll try to get a better pic. Can't find much info on them...

is that a hydroid of some sot i can see extending? i have them in my tank and have wondered why they are considerd un reef safe

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is. I looked it up and there seems to be a debate on wether they are reef safe or not, some say they sting corals, and fish for that matter, others say there is no proof... so I'm not sure. They don't seem to be doing any harm in my tank at the mo, so unless I have reason to, I'm leaving them alone.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

nice firefish

we need to get some new fish, only got 1, keep just buying corals instead i really didn't expect to get so into corals at all

 

[sparklefuzz]

nice firefish

we need to get some new fish, only got 1, keep just buying corals instead i really didn't expect to get so into corals at all

thanks and yes you do need to buy some new fish did you decide on the cardinal?

Happy New Year!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

nice firefish

we need to get some new fish, only got 1, keep just buying corals instead i really didn't expect to get so into corals at all

thanks and yes you do need to buy some new fish did you decide on the cardinal?

Happy New Year!

yeah when we get everything sorted equipment wise we'll be getting our pyjama cardinals, the two they have in the lfs for us look really nice and healthy so i'm just giving in

 

[sparklefuzz]

Another quick update, boy life is busy at the moment!

We went to the LFS today, I did stats before I went, everything 0 except nitrates which were 5. We went initially to get another firefish, because freddy, the first firefish has come out of his hidey hole less and less since we got him... not helped by Mr & Mrs Bullybabies - the clowns. So, we got there and they had the bangaii cardinals in, which we've been waiting for, so against my better judgement we bought both. I am going to watch the water stats like a hawk and have SW mixed ready in case I have to do a big water change. The guy at the LFS seemed to think it would be fine, given that everything has been *touch wood* really stable so far. So, I've dripped them and they are in the tank, I'll get pics as soon as they settle

 

[sparklefuzz]

Bengi



Freddy, at the bottom, and our new baby, Bobby. Freddy has been out loads more already, in fact, continuously since I put the lights on a little while ago.



All have eaten like pigs, so, so far so good.

 

[Mr.September15]

What's the rule on adding another firefish to the tank when you have one in there already?

 

[sparklefuzz]

What's the rule on adding another firefish to the tank when you have one in there already?

I have read they can be temporamental, but the guy at the LFS said they do well in pairs.. and that if the one I had was too shy, another may bring him out. They've been fine so far.. they have even gone back into the same hole together now the lights are out. I'll be sure to tell you if they decide to start fighting!! I didn't plan a pair, I was planning a pair of banggai cardinals, but LFS said I'd have to buy those together and they only had one, so... the firefish got paired and the cardinal is going to stay on his own.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

awww they look really cool, hope everything goes ok.

 

[SkiFletch]

The firefish look great Fiona . Is your tank covered, cause they can be jumpers?

What's the rule on adding another firefish to the tank when you have one in there already?

Same as clownfish, 3-4 weeks of more alone in the tank and its probably better to leave it by its lonesome. They get territorial and even adding a different sized one may end in disaster. Much better to bring your single back, and do a trade for a pair

 

[sparklefuzz]

The firefish look great Fiona . Is your tank covered, cause they can be jumpers?

What's the rule on adding another firefish to the tank when you have one in there already?

Same as clownfish, 3-4 weeks of more alone in the tank and its probably better to leave it by its lonesome. They get territorial and even adding a different sized one may end in disaster. Much better to bring your single back, and do a trade for a pair

Yup, my tank is covered. Everything has changed so much siince saturday, the tank seems to be a hive of activity suddenly, all the fish are out as soon as the lights go on and they stay out until they go off. It is great, I'm loving it!

Ski, what are your thoughts on a bicolor angel? I am going to have a bicolor pseudochromis last, but I'd like a dwarf angel next I think... yes? no?